


Cries of the Forest

by shiro1sora



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, Mokuton!Naruto, No idea what I'm doing, Shounen ai, fluffyslash, forest, wild
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2018-12-26 04:51:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12051690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiro1sora/pseuds/shiro1sora
Summary: The night of the Kyuubi attack, Naruto was never found by the bodies of his dead parents. Instead, he was raised by the forest.Disclaimer:  You guessed it, I don't own Naruto. But I do own the writing skills that produced this work of fiction, so I ask that you be respectful and not copy my work.





	1. 1

In the depth of the forest, a great chase of life and death took place before the very eyes of a young boy. A doe, graceful even in her panic, frantically ran from a large brown wolf. Hopping over rotting logs and tree roots, she sped through the foliage like an arrow.

But it was all for naught. As with everything, she inevitably tired and tripped. Struggling to get up, jagged teeth tore into her exposed side. The wolf ripped her flesh from her body and blood gushed from the wound. It was fatal, and she knew it.

Quietly waiting behind a tree, the boy had finally caught up with them. He cringed at the feeble cries for help but stayed put.

He could feel her life force draining rapidly and only hoped that her suffering would be short-lived.

Hunger sated and belly full, the wolf finally walked away from the ravaged form of the deer. Only when it was out of sight did the boy emerge from his hiding place. He hesitated for only a second before cautiously stepping towards the fallen doe.

Amazingly, she was still alive, if just barely. Every shallow breath was a struggle, and pain filled her large brown eyes. The boy offered comfort in the form of a hand gently stroking her head. She flinched at the foreign touch, but he continued with his task anyway.

He longed to take her pain away in any way he could. By now her eyes had closed and her breaths rattled in her lungs. Taking pity, the boy pulled out a knife of bone and swiftly cut her throat.

The cut bleed weakly, showing how much she'd lost earlier, and her chakra signature vanished.

Despite having just ended her life, the boy still tenderly stroked her head. Moving to his knees, he put his hands together to pray for the doe.

"Thank you for offering your meat to the wolf, your skin to me and your body to the forest. Rest well."

Having said his part, he took up his knife once more and carefully severed the pelt from the carcass, not minding the lukewarm blood coating his hands in the least.

He also took a bit of the leftover meat while he was at it. His diet mainly consisted of fish and plant life, so venison was a rare treat. He never ate in excess, and only killed when necessary.

The boy gingerly stood up, then set off towards his den. He walked in a zigzag pattern to throw off any pursuers and collected leaves and berries in a small pouch as he passed by.

Here in the forest, there was a system; always the unspoken rule governing the wildlife. "Only take as much as you give." Every creature, no matter how big or small, followed this rule in some way. Although "moderation" didn't seem to be in most humans' vocabulary, this lifestyle suited the boy perfectly.

He'd grown up this way after all.

He couldn't remember if he had ever lived with the humans beyond the forest. Every once in a while he would go down to the forests' edge to observe The People, but never did he reveal himself. It wasn't that he was particularly afraid of them, only that they lived differently from him.

From his research of sorts, he started listening to the way they communicated with each other, carefully imitating the sounds later in his den. He had learned of their burial ceremonies, took notes on the hand movements that made fire or water appear out of thin air, and watched how they used tools to aid them in various ways.

The first time he was playing with his hands like the people he'd seen, he produced a large ball of fire that flew into one of the trees, scorching the bark.

He didn't like it. It hurt the trees.

The boy didn't know if The People could hear the trees or not. If they did, why did they cut them? Why would they burn them alive or knock them over simply because they were "in the way?" No, he decided. The People could not hear the cries of the forest.

The boy then looked up towards the canopy. The sun would be leaving soon. That was fine. He was almost to his den anyway. He checked his pouch to make sure he had enough berries for his last meal. It was a bit short, but it would tide him over for the night.

As the trees grew almost unnoticeably thinner, he knew he would be home soon.

Soon enough he came upon a large gnarled tree. In the nest of its roots was the entrance to his den.

He remembered when he'd come upon it when it was just a sapling. He had grown too old and self-sufficient to remain with the pack of wolves he'd been staying with and had no place for himself.

He was cold and tired from looking for a new den when he came upon a small sprig of a tree. He envied that a tree could easily make a home for itself in the warm, compact soil of the forest.

He remembered imagining the warmth of the soil, wishing he could be there too. His want was so great that he felt a tug at his core before the small sprout grew before his very eyes.

The trunk thickened, branches reached out for the sky and gnarled roots grew to make a cradle for him.

There he slept, safely tucked away for the moment, curled in the safety of the tree's almost affectionate limbs.

He didn't know when exactly he'd made a home of the tree, only that it was there now.

Since that day the tree has felt a certain fondness for the boy that almost certainly decided its survival. In such a dense forest and as a small shrub of a tree, it had grown uncertain of its chances against the competition. That's why it had no qualms about being the key to the boy's survival.

It had no fruit, so this was the most it could offer.

And the boy understood that. So he gladly took the silent offering, and slowly started bringing pelts and furs back to warm them. Eventually, he dug further underground to escape the wind and made a larger living space for himself beneath the tree's root system.

For 7 years he has lived here, and he doesn't plan to stay anywhere else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was gonna be a fic where Naruto finds solace in the Forest of Death after the war, but then my history class went over the ages before the agricultural revolution where humans lived as hunters and foragers, and this was born. I'm kind of proud of this for some reason...
> 
> Thinkin' it'll have some ShikaNaru or Narushika. 
> 
> And also, I know it's repetitive to call Naruto "The Boy," but there's a reason for that. He himself has no name, so he isn't "Naruto" yet. Make sense? No? You'll just have to roll with it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you'll tune-in in the future!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hsm1999: I had given small indicators earlier in the story that Naruto was a natural sensor, so I figured he'd be able to subconsciously sense the chakra fluctuations. It was a bit subtle and wasn't said outright, so I'm sorry that got lost in the translation.

 

The boy woke when the sun was low. His stomach growled in hunger, so he wrapped a wolf skin around his waist and set off into the trees. The crisp morning air softly nipped at his tanned torso, but he was too preoccupied with picking berries to notice much.

He stopped beneath a large nut tree and started climbing. It was best to get as many heart-nuts as he could before they fell off the tree. They might not be ripe for the animals, but they were perfect for him. He had not thought to bring his pouch, so he settled for storing a few in the folds of his fur.

Before he leaped down from his perch, the boy struck one nut against another, startling a small squirrel from its home in a knoll.

Small cracks appeared in the shells and he carefully widened them with his nails. Eventually, he managed to pry them open and are the nut inside. His hunger was by no means satisfied, but the nuts and berries would tide him over until the sun was high.

He felt the familiar bright chakra signature of the king and headed towards him.

Keeping his eyes closed, he visualized the way with his mind and felt with his feet. He knew it by heart.

The king was his father of sorts. He had gifted the boy to the pack of wolves and cared for the forest. He had shown him The People so the boy could learn. His father was so kind he would never even set foot on the grass for fear of harming the delicate blades.

That was why the boy was heading towards the river. Feeling for the gentle slope of the ground caused by water runoff, the moisture in the ground that never quite leaves completely, the vibrations of water fiercely battling against the land.

He first heard a trickle, gradually loudening to a dull roar as he came closer. Suddenly he was clear of the forest and on the bank of the wide river.

Small animals dotted the stretch of land, bathing in the light of the sun and the warmth of the king's chakra.

There was no competition over territories or food supply. This was the king's domain, where all was in safe harmony.

On the water lay the king, as if he were settled in a meadow rather than turbulent water. He had shaggy blue hair and brilliant scales that reflected the sun in beautiful green patterns atop the water. His two ridged horns pointed behind him towards his long reptilian tail and a thin mustache trailed behind him in the wind.

He was a creature like no other.

The boy carefully stepped onto the glassy surface of the shallows, then gradually moved towards the king.

He could not walk on water as well as his father.

His father, who had been assessing him as he went, seemed to gaze amusedly at the boy. He slowly nodded towards his scaled back, and the boy gratefully took the offering. Walking on water was more taxing on the mind than the body, so he was understandably mentally exhausted.

He then proceeded to ungracefully flop on the king, hearing an annoyed snort in response. His skin tingled where it touched the scales, but he wasn't alarmed.

A soft nudge came from within his mind and he opened up to it with practiced ease. A powerful weight settled in his mind, careful not to overwhelm him.

_'Hello again, child,'_ came the first thought.

_'Father,'_ he acknowledged respectfully.

_'Would you like to hear another story?'_ his father asked kindly. Excitement welled up inside him. It wasn't often when the king decided to share one of the many stories he had to tell.

_'Please!'_ His father chuckled at his childish enthusiasm.

_'Alright then. I will tell you a new story. The story of how I came to be.'_ And so he began weaving his tale.

_'Long ago, there was a newborn fawn, only hours old and unknowing of fear. He had a mother to guide and care for him, and a father to protect him and the others. But while they were grazing, the fawn went off on his own and came upon a tree. This tree was said to bear the fruit of the gods, and granted mortals power beyond the imagination. But the fawn knew nothing of this new world.'_ He trailed off sadly, remembering his foolishness. He paused slightly before resuming his story once more.

_'This foolish fawn ate from the bark and root of the tree. The power killed him. However, he was reborn centuries later as what The People call a Kirin. I am immortal and will live to see the end of time, but I never saw my birth mother for more than those few hours.'_

They sat in heavy silence, sadness radiating from the both of them. Finally, the king continued.

_'I told you of this today as a warning. Ignorance will surely kill you. Power can sometimes be more of a curse than a blessing, but you must always look for the silver lining.'_

The boy was...shocked, to say the least. He hadn't thought much on _why_ the king looked so different compared to the other animals. Neither a reptile nor a deer, but forever stuck somewhere in the in-between. It seemed like an awful prospect to the boy, and he suddenly realized that that was what _he_ was as well. Neither a human nor animal, but lost in the in-between.

He grew angry at having something like that pointed out to him, making him insecure; but he calmed when he realized that his father was merely protecting him. Warning him that if things didn't change, it could mean the end.

After a long moment, he spoke up. _'So...You say I should meet with The People?'_

The king chuckled at his hesitance. _'If you are ready,'_ he said, deliberately ruffling the boy's feathers a bit. The boy's temper rose and the glint of determination sparked in his eyes.

_'I'll show you! I'll go down to The People tomorrow, believe it!'_ The king gave a small huff of laughter at his exclamation.

_'I'm sure you will,'_ came the fond reply.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I never imagined my story would get this much positive feedback! Not even kidding, I almost cried tears of joy. Thank you all so much for checking this out!
> 
> I'm thinking about doing a half/extra chapter to explain Konoha's view a bit. But until then, let me explain Naruto's "father." What I was trying to describe was a Japanese Kirin/Qilin. They're said to be omens of good luck, the coming of a sage(hint hint), and things such as fertility and goodness. I figured if there are rabbit goddesses and talking ostriches running rampant, why not add a mythological creature to the mix? I don't think it's really been done before for this fandom...
> 
> So to check out a picture of the king, here's the link to a work I found on DeviantArt(not mine,)
> 
> sonpan dot deviant art dot com slash art/Qilin-329940127
> 
> (So sorry that I couldn't just copy n' paste the link. I tried.)


	3. chapter 3

Shikamaru Nara was having a bad day. First, he was loudly woken up by his mother, (and rather violently if I might add,) then forced outside to monitor the deer for coming to breakfast late.

His sandaled feet were misted slightly by the grass, still damp from the morning dew, and he grumbled at how cold the air was this morning. The summer warmth had long left Fire Country, but he hadn't been bothered to grab a jacket before he left. Now he paid the price for his laziness.

While the Naras did have a herd of deer, they didn't keep them fenced. Domestication might have the perks of keeping the deer in one accessible place, but disease and defects far outweighed the pros of an enclosure. In the long run, it was smarter to let them roam free.

As Shikamaru followed the faint trail left by the herd, he collected various medicinal herbs and berries as he passed. He knew his mother would make him do it later and few couldn't be bothered to start from scratch at a later time.

He followed the trail at a leisurely pace, keeping an eye out for faint cloven hoof prints, a twig snapped here or there, or just trampled shrubs.

The chattering of monkeys could be heard from the treetops. He found it unusual that the forest was so animated at this time. Normally the animals were grouped father in than this. Not to mention the odd occurrence of some leaves or sprigs picked from bushes he knew for a fact deer  _did not_  incorporate into their diet.

Burning curiosity settled within his mind, but he did not speed up from his sluggish walk. If he sped up, he would surely scare off the creatures and his personal mystery would remain unresolved.

When he was sure he was just a few paces behind the herd of deer, he was startled when he heard an animalistic scream. It was not a cry of fear or agony, but of warning.

The leaves of trees above him rustled as a band of macaque bounded from branch to branch. Strange. Had they thought him to be a hunter?

The deer merely turned their heads to stare at him when he broke through the tree line and entered their temporary grazing ground. Across the small glade sat a tanned figure, gently petting the resting fawns.

While Shikamaru knew Konoha was very large, it puzzled him that he had never seen the teen before.

The boy had his short blond hair swept back in a ponytail similar to his own, brightly colored feathers sticking out from his ears and a strand of dark orange beads secured on a pale braid around his neck. Red paint adorned the edges of his eyelids and marked his cheeks, looking reminiscent to whiskers.

One would expect him to be cold in nothing but some fur but all he did was keep a watchful eye on the curious Nara.

If the chore wasn't troublesome enough already, this definitely made it more so.

The adult deer, judging him to be of no threat went back to their grazing. The teen, however, remained staring at him with a calculating gaze, searching his body language for any indication of violence.

Shikamaru was slightly unnerved by the weight of the bright blue eyes but forced himself to calm. It would do him no good to scare them all off.

He quietly edged towards the other boy and sat next to the fawn farthest from the group. He did not look at the strange boy, but instead, pet the back of the small speckled deer lying at his side. Shikamaru then looked to the sky, hoping to cloud gaze for a bit. He was mildly disappointed to find that the sky was still a full gray of an early autumn morning.

He heard the boy shift a bit, but didn't bother looking to see what he was doing. Instead, he started counting the deer. This group was all female with the exception of the few male fawns who obviously had yet to reach their maturity.

Since the last time he was here, he counted five does missing and four new younglings. He hoped it wasn't the mothers who had died.

He was startled from his musings when a hand reached out to pull at the thick ring of silver in his ear. He grunted in slight pain and glared at the culprit.  _Ow_. That hurt, dammit!

Curious sapphires eyed the shiny piece of metal in fascination of its hardness. Had he never seen metal before?

From his clothes, (or lack thereof,) it was easy to gather that the blond teen was a wild child in a more literal sense. How Konoha didn't seem to know of him was a mystery, but there was no other explanation for them to leave him here in the forest.

Slowing his movements considerably, Shikamaru reached up to unclasp his earring, holding it out for the boy to take. The boy's eyes followed his every move, waiting to see if this was some sort of trickery. After a moment though, he snatched the metal piece from the Nara's outstretched hand.

Turning it over in his calloused fingers, the boy carefully traced the smooth surface. He marveled at the small clasp and the softly rounded edges of the ring.

As he did this, Shikamaru observed him out of the corner of his eye. The boy's curiosity of such a novelty object was incredibly gratifying to see. He then began his lazy interrogation.

"Do you speak Japanese?" The boy looked up at him, innocent confusion in his eyes. He looked back at the earring before mumbling a response.

"I speak People. Speak wolf, speak monkey, speak forest." Now it was Shikamaru's turn to be confused. Forest? Can he somehow communicate with all of the animals in the Konoha Forest? But the forest covered most of The Land of Fire!

"Do you....have a name?" Long blond hair shifted as the boy tilted his head to the side, trying to remember exactly how he had seen The People use that word. When they first met someone, they exchanged "names" and took each others' hand. He didn't get why they did that. Was it a challenge? Was this People trying to take his territory?! He growled and shifted away uneasily.

He had worked hard to make his den how it was now. There was no way he could give it up so easily! 

Shikamaru, on the other hand, did not follow this train of thought. Sure, he had known the boy's language skills to be somewhat rudimentary, but he was so used to his culture's ways that he thought nothing of it. So when the strange boy crouched low and started  _growling_ at him, to say he was baffled was an understatement. How exactly had he managed to offend him?!

Thinking quickly, Shikamaru used his clan's trademark shadow imitation jutsu to still the boy's movements. He raised his hands in surrender, causing the boy to copy his movements. 

Snarling, the boy struggled against the invisible bonds forcing his limbs against him. Seeing as this was futile, he abandoned his plan. If brute force didn't work, he'd have to come up with a strategy. Sharp canines still bared in challenge, he willed the People to come towards him. 

Roots and vines sprung from the ground, wrapping tightly around Shikamaru's body and forcing him up into the air. Once he was close enough, the boy leaned in close and snapped his teeth near his neck, forcing the "challenger" into submission.

Poor Shikamaru was so startled his calm façade cracked. While he'd had plenty of dangerous encounters with enemy nin during missions and had his first kill long ago, that could never prepare him for a strange boy up close and personal, threatening to rip into one of the vital points of his body. To be blunt, Shikamaru was scared stiff.

Satisfied now that he could move his limbs and had won the challenge, the boy stepped back and resumed sitting once more. The fawns who's been startled by the sudden bout of violence were soon calmed by gentle pets.

Shikamaru, who was still entangled in flora, shakily began to cut himself down from his perch using a kunai he had managed to grasp after a considerable amount of effort.

No, he thought sourly. This was definitely  _not_  his morning. 

When he had finally freed himself, he sat down again. If he'd happened to be a little farther away than when he'd started, who would know?

Too afraid to resume his interrogation, Shikamaru instead resolved to observe him some more.

And so the young Nara watched the nameless boy. Watched in slightly subdued awe as the boy's ears slightly twitched towards noises unknown to the Nara. Noises that he couldn't hear even with chakra enhanced senses. It was then that he had to wonder how he  _had_ managed to find him, especially after being completely off the radar for the entirety of his life.

By now the sun had risen high above the treetops and wispy clouds skittered across the sky.

Only when his stomach grumbled did he get up from his lazy cloud gazing to leave. The herd was getting ready to leave for a new grazing ground and the boy was laying in the sunlight, letting the warmth softly dust his painted cheeks.

Shikamaru quietly got up, sparing the boy one last look before heading back towards home. He was still unsure if he would come back or ever see the boy again, but he was still curious. And a curious Nara was a troublesome Nara.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My longest chapter! How was their first meeting? Sure it wasn't instant love, but it'll get there. Eventually. I also had a lot of trouble with Shikamaru. I feel like you'll be silently nodding your head at this, relieved that you don't have to burst my bubble. 
> 
> But yeah. I don't think I played on the "lazy" part of his character enough, and so he ended up being OOC af.
> 
> And I know that someone commented a request for no yaoi. I'll tell right now that this is yaoi, but more shounen ai than anything. Nothing hot and heavy. But you've been outvoted sir/ma'am, and so it shall stay a boys' love story. As always, point out all the plotholes if you can in a respectful manner, and try to stick with me here.
> 
> P.S. Your comments give me life.


	4. chapter 4

Shikamaru was tired. More than usual, as impossible as that sounds. Every time he looked to the tree-line, he would remember that strange boy. Given that his clan's compound situated directly by the forest's edge, that meant he thought of the boy near constantly.

It had gotten to the point where even Ino noticed something was off, and she had jokingly teased him about thinking of his "girlfriend," Temari.

Now  _that_  had stopped him short. When had Temari become his girlfriend? Though now that he thought about it, he probably gave people that impression since she tended to seek him out and cling to him. Women were troublesome to deal with, so he merely tolerated the attention and moved on.

Yes, he could understand how he had given others the wrong idea, but there was no way he would sign over his life for a woman, even for the sake is his clan.

Since he was but a young boy, his father had drilled into him that he would marry and have children, if not for himself then for the clan. Thus was born his dream to marry an average looking girl and settle down with maybe two kids. He had thought the option given to him was the only option.  _But there was always another option._

Civilian or not, women were violent and controlling. He then thought of quiet, timid Hinata. Well, he amended, maybe not  _all_  women. But by his experiences with Ino, Tsunade, Sakura, and his mother, he had absolutely no plans to marry.

He supposed he should probably tell his father, but then he would have to deal with the clan elders as well. That would just complicate matters and overall be extremely troublesome, so he decided against it.

But that brought him to another dilemma. Who would he find suitable for a relationship? Kiba? No, he was too loud and crass, not to mention his crush on Hinata. Shino? Quieter than him. Choji? No. They'd been together since birth. There was no way he could establish a romantic relationship with him.

All the other people he knew were weird, and he thought of as teachers. Dating was just a hassle. So who did that leave for him? No one.

Forget it, he thought. There was no way he could establish anything at this rate, so it was best to leave such matters alone. Instead, he would think of the mystery of...  _that boy._

Now he was getting irritated. Why couldn't he thinks if anything else?! Like perhaps learning a new clan technique or something new elemental jutsu?!

Ah, he was getting nowhere. So much for being the outstanding Nara genius, he thought sarcastically. Lately, he didn't feel like the genius people said him to be. Sure, above average in intelligence, but he was no genius.

He sighed and just started walking. He didn't have any particular destination, but he didn't care too much. All this thinking had made him tired, and he longed to watch the clouds blow by. Without realizing it, his feet had taken him back to the forest's edge. Resignation overpowered momentary irritation, and he threw all caution to the wind. Why overthink something so simple when he could cut corners and get more information from the source?

He hadn't been in the forest since his last visit, and he had no map to go by. This was, after all, technically beyond the village boundaries. Other than keeping tabs on the herd and tree hopping to their next mission, no one traversed this part.

While it did hinder his progress, he remained unperturbed that he was going into the unknown blind. With a determination most decidedly unlike him, he decided that he would find the boy again.

* * *

The boy's morning so far was relatively normal. He got up, dressed, ate, then bathed. He did not see Father today, for he wasn't at the river. He wondered if maybe Father had gone because the People was here again. He knew because the trees told him. The forest was all connected, so whispers flew fast.

He hoped the People wasn't here for his moonpiece, as he'd taken to calling it. After all, it was shiny, silver, and brought a chill to his skin. What better name than 'moonpiece?' He had strung the small moonpiece on is braid and beads, liking the glimmer it gave off in the light.

He thought of going to meet the People directly, but then his mischievous streak flared, and he got a wicked idea. The People had followed the trail well enough that he had found both him and the herd, so he  _had_  to have been a skilled tracker.

The boy ran back to his den for his pouch to collect all that he needed. He asked a few trees for some leaves instead of outright picking them. He did not want to hurt the trees. He felt the bit of chakra in a few older leaves recede into the branch and caught the gently fluttering leaves. They were newly fallen so they could live off of the chakra in the air, but would still brown in a few days.

He took a stick and his dagger of bone and headed off. His eyes were closed as he walked, constantly listening to the whispers of the trees to get an idea of where the People was.

After he got a rough idea of where his prey was heading, he started on making a faint trail. A scuff here, a broken branch there. He'd occasionally drop one of the leaves or pick something from one bush, only to deposit beneath another bush. Sometimes simple is best.

He did not set any traps. That was not the purpose of this. Instead, he'd walk a meandering path, backtracking a few times just for the fun of it. He'd never deliberately  _tried_ to lead someone to him. Things were usually attracted to him naturally, so he wasn't quite sure if the People would be smart enough to pick up on the trail.

It was fine if they weren't. He'd teach them the ways of the forest. But then the boy was struck by a thought. Did he want the People to stay? To visit him more times? He thought back to the quiet atmosphere that had taken hold the last time they had been together. The gentle way his calloused hands caressed the back of the fawn and how even after he had him bound with no restraints, the People had not hurt him.

Perhaps... the People _might_  be slightly trustworthy. We'll see.

Speaking of the People, the boy had lost track of him during his musings. He would have to rectify that. So he closed his eyes once more and eagerly felt for that life source slightly larger than the regular residents of the forest, but still smaller than his own or the king's.

He was surprised to see that the People was only a few dozen meters behind him and had seen through a majority of his schemes.

Remaining undeterred, the boy took to the trees to make the game more of a challenge. If their sense of sight was up to par, how was their hearing?

It wasn't too much longer before the People emerged at the dead end of the trail. He stopped and searched his surrounding for the boy in puzzlement. The boy almost blew his cover by laughing out loud at the cute expression of confusion stuck on his face. Regardless, the boy thought it was high time to take the game to the next level.

Crouching on all fours, he jumped to a neighboring tree. The branch shook upon his landing, making the leaves to rattle against each other. The People looked up at the sudden noise, and the boy held his breath. He was sure that he only looked like a large monkey from this height, but that didn't stop his body from tensing up.

When the leaves had settled, he drew himself up and released a small bark to enforce the impression of him being only a monkey. It was great fun for him, seeing as how the boy was positive that the People below him had no knowledge of the monkey language.

It appeared that he hadn't gotten the People's attention, so he decided it was time for a change of position as well.

Seeing a broken length of wood at the top of another tree, he focused on seeing things as he would from that perspective and his want to be in the cradle of branches of that tree. A brief flare of chakra signified his successful exchange.

Taking extra precautions to ensure he remained unseen, the boy then started his calling again. But this time he imitated the chirps of a small bird. They would be especially talkative in the morning, always yelling at the rest of the world to  _"get your asses in gear; it's a new day,"_ (their chirps, not his.)

Deceptively lazy eyes swung to face him once again. Suspicion was now present, but the People seemed content to stay where he was.

The boy grew excited now. He knew that the next call would be the last, but he didn't mind in the least. He'd had his fun.

He waited for a few more seconds, then let out a few soft hoots. He thought the animal that made these sounds were similar to the People on the ground. Of course, they weren't all that familiar with each other, so he couldn't be too sure, but it seemed like a good fit for him.

Laughter danced in the dark grey eyes now looking directly at him, and he nearly fell out of the tree when he couldn't contain his own. Great howls of mirth escaped his lips, and small tears appeared at the corners of his eyes. Eventually, though, he calmed down enough to swing down to the ground to join the People.

All was quiet when he softly landed on the ground, and they silently stared at each other.

It was then the People coughed awkwardly and averted his eyes. That's good, the boy thought. The other was still reminded of his dominance and wouldn't try anything like last time.

"So... I know nothing about you," the People said, now cautiously looking into the boy's eyes.

The boy didn't quite understand what the stranger would need to know "about" him, but he figured it held a similar meaning to how wolves scented each other. So he leaned in close to the People and inhaled.

The People before him stiffened but remained still. Did he think the boy was reestablishing himself? No matter. The boy now knew both his chakra signature and his scent marker, and  _that_ was what mattered to him.

Shikamaru, on the other hand, was frozen stiff. The last time the strange boy had been in such close proximity had been disastrous, and he didn't want a repeat of that incident.

But when he actually started  _smelling_ him, he well and truly freaked out. Although he didn't show any hints of his distress on the outside of his person, he was having an internal meltdown.

First, he was plagued by relentless thoughts of the boy-who was now _smelling_ him,-then questioned his sexuality, therefore having an identity crisis, and now he was engaging in something incredibly inappropriate (to him at least,) with a boy who he'd just met- _who was **still**_ _smelling_ _him!_

He was rapidly approaching his limit for mental and emotional exhaustion, and his brain was desperately trying to keep from shutting down from the absurdity of the situation he had found himself in.

When the boy finally stepped away from poor Shikamaru, he was mildly alarmed when a bank stare met his gaze.

He panicked. Had he somehow done something to hurt him?!

Now frantic, the boy started dragging the People back in the direction of his den. After all, how could he tend to whatever injury the other had out in the open like this?

He can't. And that was why he was bringing the People to his den.

As he picked up speed, here forewent courtesy and slung the People across his shoulders. This seemed to snap the other out of his catatonic state, and Shikamaru started flailing around.

The boy paid this no mind and headed towards a tree. At this distance, it would be tiring, especially with another person, but that didn't matter to him.

He skid to a stop at the base of a large tree and knelt down to lay on its roots, still maintaining a firm grip on his precious cargo. It was hard to concentrate, but he focused on the warmth of the furs strewn about his den. The smell of his personal scent marker and the ever-present sounds of the forest.

The roots bent to his will, surrounding him in a crude imitation of a cocoon, and transported him to his desired location. He was home.

At this point, Shikamaru was basically fearing for his life and had managed to break the strong hold that had held him captive.

His analytical mind listed possible outcomes and escape routes as his mind worked at lightning speed. Adrenaline coursed through his veins and his body tensed for a fight. How on Earth had things gone sour between them so quickly?!

Seeing his intention to escape, the boy growled shortly in warning before pouncing.

While he had no intention of harming him, the boy would not allow the People to leave while injured!

So he charged.

While Shikamaru was quickly trying to form hand signs, the boy went for a simpler approach and settled for tracking him. He didn't bother with fancy moves, having learned to fight only with the savagery of a wild animal, and immediately went to take out the limbs.

Enveloping him in a sort of overly aggressive bear hug, the boy securely wrapped himself around the other's arms and waist.

Having had the wind knocked out of him, Shikamaru fell to the ground with little resistance. He was unable to break his fall, but thankfully he was safely cushioned by the layers of furs set in the small space.

He contemplated the option of casting a simple genjutsu that didn't require hand seals, but all thoughts of that were dashed from his mind when a set of teeth firmly locked around his jugular.

Logically, he knew that the chances of the boy going through with his unsaid threat were slim, but the implications were clear.

His body tensed, then relaxed to show his submission. He had lost this fight, and there was no way he would be getting his way today.

The boy purred low in his throat, then softly licked along the throat he had gently abused twice in just as many days. A show of apology.

Shikamaru shivered at the strange feeling but remained as he was.

Now appeased, the boy commenced with his minor "medical" check. Really though, the boy merely ran his hands along his patient's body and watched his face for any signs of pain.

At times it was awkward and ticklish, but not too uncomfortable for Shikamaru. He still didn't quite understand how he'd gotten in this situation, but he appreciated the concern nonetheless.

He wondered how he would communicate with the boy. He had noticed that his vocabulary was fairly limited, he couldn't grasp the concepts of grammar and thought in quite simple terms. All this made for a field of landmines that set off at the slightest misunderstanding. It was proving to be problematic, and in all honesty, troublesome.

But that didn't deter him in the least.

For once he anticipated the challenge this would prove to be. Anticipated the small sense of pride and accomplishment he was sure to feel when his curiosity was sated.

But to progress at all, they'd have to start building up the boy's language skills. And really, it was only common sense to start with exchanging names and introductions.

Meanwhile, while Shikamaru had been mulling over the many hurdles set up for him in the near future, the boy had completed his physical check and had somehow gotten ahold of one of Shikamaru's senbon. He admired it's stiff, unyielding form and the finely honed sharpness of the tips.

Only when he was about to stab himself in the hand did Shikamaru break out of thought. His eyes widened when a slightly panicked Shikamaru snatched it out of his grasp.

"What were you doing?!" Honestly, Shikamaru felt like he'd just had a miniature heart attack!

The boy merely tilted his head cutely, uncomprehending of the danger of such a harmless looking object. He grinned sheepishly, timidly pointing to the small length of metal.

"Moon piece?"

Moonpiece? What did that mean? Shikamaru didn't think he'd ever heard of such a term before, which meant it either want commonly used or just didn't exist as part of the village's vocabulary. The latter was very possible.

"What's a 'moonpiece'?" he asked, half expecting to be tossed around again for no apparent reason at all.

Surprisingly, that did not happen. Instead, the boy smiled a bit guiltily and pointed to his necklace. A small glint caught his attention, and he noticed his earring strung upon the boy's necklace. Truthfully, he didn't mind all that much that it was gone, only regretted the scolding he had received from his mother for losing it.

It was settled nicely among the dark orange beads on the strand. Strangely though, the string shone a soft gold instead of the grey or brown normal to a thread. Was that...hair?

He shrugged off his momentary confusion at this observation and instead focused on making it clear that he didn't want his 'moonpiece' back.

"Look, it's fine. You can keep it." Although such words were said in casual laziness, he felt a glow of warmth at the boy's responding smile. He cleared his throat, then steeled himself for what was to come.

"You didn't exactly answer me last time, but I want to know. What's your name?" The expected growl answered back, so he hurried to clarify whatever misgivings he'd somehow given the boy. "I'm not after your...den... or anything. I'm Shikamaru Nara. Would you happen to have a name?" Saying he wasn't a competitor for the den was a good move, and he silently thanked his quick thinking for saving him from that blow-up.

"...Name? Like king?"

"No. Name, like Shinji or Shikamaru."

"No name. Me," he said in a matter-of-fact tone."

"Then would it be alright if I called you something until you decide on a different name?" A slightly uncertain nod was all he got, so Shikamaru started thinking. Nikko? No. Usuge? No. The sounds somehow didn't suit his personality. What about Aoime? 'Blue eyes.' It was simple, but could easily be passed off as a foreign name from Kiri or Kumo, and that was important.

He was preparing for the inevitable in a way. If Shikamaru had found him, then others were sure to follow. After all, the saying that secrets never stayed that way for long had rung true for so long.

"How do you like 'Aoime'? We could always shorten it to 'Mei' if it's too difficult to say." The boy tilted his head and seemed to contemplate this. Shikamaru had noticed this to be a habit or a tick of sorts. Finally, the newly dubbed Aoime hummed in approval while nodding.

He quite liked the sound of that!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I am so sorry I was late. I was trying to finish last night, but then I somehow managed to triple my word count? So yeah. Sorry 'bout that.
> 
> Secondly, I'm sorry for switching between perspectives so much. I can try to stop that in the future, but I have little control over the way I write... The ending was also quite abrupt and the overall flow seemed a bit stilted, so I apologize for that as well.
> 
> Lastly, I've gotten a lot of questions about their ages, so I thought I'd clarify. I think that they're around 13 or 14. I don't really have any of this planned out as I write, so not even I know exactly how old they are. But I call Naruto a boy both because he has no name to be addressed by, and because he's still relatively innocent. He's had no interaction of any nature with others, and the only creature that speaks the human language is the king, an ancient being where Naruto is still a baby to him.
> 
> P.S. Google translate and everything else says that blue eyes=aoimoku, but it's somehow pronounced aoime? I'm very confused.
> 
> Comment any questions or thing you want me to know. Thanks for sticking with me this far, and I hope to see you next week!


	5. chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M ALIVE!!!
> 
> I felt that this was a little too long, and kind of just... dragged on? I'll probably make the next chapter a little shorter for the sake of quickness and my sanity.

 

After that second time, Shikamaru came to visit much more often, varying from just weekends to every day! All in all, he had very quickly and effectively inserted himself into Aoime's everyday lifestyle.

His frequent disappearances were causing quite a stir among his peers, and he sometimes had to make a slight effort to shake off any curious pursuers (aka; Ino,) in the village before entering his new sanctuary.

He felt a slight possessiveness over his blond mystery and also felt that Aoime wasn't ready for more human contact yet. Although it bugged him slightly, he knew that it was only a matter of time before Aoime wanted to expand his small world. For some unknown reason, that put a bit of a damper on Shikamaru's mood. Subconsciously he knew why, but his rational self remained in denial for the time being.

In the meantime though, he was on a self-appointed mission. During one of his meetings with the Godaime Hokage, he remembered the strange techniques used by Aoime. Strange techniques unique only to the Shodaime, a member of the famed, though nearly extinct Senju clan.

That began a string of new questions, and quite frankly, Shikamaru was feeling he was in a little over his head. He felt the strong urge to discuss the boy with another over a shogi board if only to be enlightened from the perspective of a bystander to the situation.

He thought of telling his father, but like with his troublesome newfound sexuality, he'd be forced to inform the clan elders of the developments. Ino would blab, but maybe Choji would be an option this time around.

While his childhood friend was friendly with most anybody, he wouldn't thoughtlessly reveal secrets.

Having made his decision, he headed towards the Akimichi's family restaurant, knowing that was the likeliest place his friend would be.

Sure enough, there was the clan heir himself, in all his big-boned glory. Instead of serving and helping out like he  _should_ , he was instead trying to sneak a few servings for himself. Unfortunately, his mother knew of his plans and was ready to whack him upside the head just as soon as he touched a thing.

Shikamaru casually intervened by calling the boy out, stopping his hand just in time from touching the customers' food.

Having been saved from a sure beating, he threw a grateful smile in Shikamaru's direction. He didn't usually give into his weakness to food so easily, but sometimes his self-control broke when surrounded by delicious treats.

And who could blame him, really? The Akimichis were famous for their special recipes, and there was a  _reason_  why every member of the clan was larger than the average individual. But God have mercy on the poor soul who called an Akimichi fat because they certainly would not.

Chouji came over sporting a large grin that squinted his eyes and chubbed his cheeks, then called out a greeting while giving a half-hearted wave. It wasn't all that usual for his Nara friend to call him out like this. 

"Hey, Shikamaru. What'cha need?"

"Nothing. I just came over so my uncle could sneak into your guys' cheese and wine cellar," Shikamaru deadpanned. Chouji's face grew horrified and was on the verge of going off to break the Konaha's fastest sprint record before Shikamaru snorted with laughter.

"Relax, my uncle's still recovering from the last time he tried that stunt." Chouji visibly relaxed at that bit of information, his cheeked heavily dusted pink with embarrassment. "No, I just need an ear to listen to my troubles."

Now  _that_  piqued Chouji's curiosity. He might be Shikamaru's best friend, but it wasn't that often when he'd have the privilege of being privy to the Nara's thoughts. Oftentimes he could hardly keep up with the crazy though ingenious strategies the other came up with, which was why he was content being the heavy-hitter of the team.

"Well, we might want to go somewhere slightly more private for that, but I'm game." So the pair settled at an even pace, one looking so bored he might just kill himself for entertainment, and the other positively bursting at the seams with curiosity.

After a good deal of meandering in seemingly no particular direction, they stopped beneath the large cherry blossom tree at the back of the academy of their childhood. While Chouji slowly sat down, Shikamaru settled for the simpler approach of just collapsing onto the grassy ground. His dear friend merely rolled his eyes, years of exposure to similar displays having desensitized him of the other's severe case of laziness.

Silence settled between them, and Chouji shifted uncomfortably. When it was clear the other wasn't going to speak anytime soon, the young Akimichi spoke up.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Shikamaru gave no outward indications that he'd heard the question as he remained sprawled out next to him.

"So... I met this boy. I've never seen him before, and he seems to inhabit Konoha's forest. I honestly have no idea how  _no one_  has found him before I literally stumbled upon him  _by accident._ " There was more frustration in Shikamaru's flat and slightly sarcastic tone than he could ever remember hearing from him. 

"He's a puzzle," he continued. "He can hardly speak English, thinks in animalistic terms, and is so utterly isolated from civilization that it astounds me every time I meet him. But I've learned so much from him already, and I don't know what to do about him."

"Why not just go to the Hokage about him then?" Chouji asked. It was an honest question, really. Any other loyal ninja of Konoha would've immediately reported to the Fire Shadow, but Shikamaru had almost immediately shot that down.

"I thought of that, but here's the problem: he has mokuton."

"Ah, that--" he choked in surprise. " _Mokuton_ _?!_ "

Shikamaru yawned, then nodded his head sagely, eyes unfocused as he looked to the puffy near-white clouds. "Yep. That's when I knew he would be more troublesome than any woman I've met.

"But more than that, Ino's sniffing at my tail." Chouji was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that there was a wielder of the mokuton blood limit. How in the seven nations had Shimaru done all this almost without anyone noticing?! And he was  _still_  visiting the stranger who he'd deemed as "troublesome" right off the bat?! Chouji was getting slightly concerned now.

"I know that I won't be able to keep him a secret forever, but I don't think he's all too keen for more company as of this moment. And you know how the village works. Tsunade's only a figurehead while the council runs things, and they'd place him under the CRA as soon as possible since Tsunade isn't young enough to safely restore the Senju." 

He was babbling now, Shikamaru knew. But he couldn't stop the words from flowing in an attempt to convey the full severity of the situation from his perspective. Explain his reasoning so maybe his friend could offer any help, even if it only took the form of moral support.

Chouji held up a hand to stop the influx of information. "I think... I might understand. Maybe not as thoroughly as you'd like, but work with me here."

Shikamaru's tension melted at that admission and his body reverted back to its naturally relaxed state. 

"So if this guy you met is as 'troublesome' as you say, why do you keep visiting him? Being on the brink of war, you know you could be accused of treasonous behavior if this got out." 

"He's such a mystery that he constantly fuels my curiosity. It's like when I received my first 72 step puzzle box; the excitement, the thrill of the chase. I don't think I've been this motivated in my life!" In the depths of his steel grey eyes, an almost manic gleam appears, slightly unnerving to say the least.

"I'm happy you're finally feeling challenged, but how would you rather go about this? You came to me, so I don't think you want to do this alone, but what about the others? With you keeping contact, he's not going to stay hidden for long." Of course, Shikamaru had mulled over this problem several times before, but it was somehow different when someone else confirmed his suspicions.

He let out a heavy sigh, already feeling slight fatigue at using so much brain power at one time. Maybe he could convince Chouji to give up a chip or two?

"I'd already thought of that; and with Ino catching on, that point's come sooner than I'd hoped. I think we're going to have to slowly expose Aoime to the village if we're going to keep him from freaking out when comes the big reveal. He won't take kindly to leaf ninja taking over his den and territory," he said, speaking from experience. He really wouldn't like to experience a repeat of that occasion.

"His name's Aoime? That's strange for having been born in Fire Country."

"That's the point. His hair is a darker and brighter blond than the Yamanaka, his eyes too dark to pass as one of them as well. He clearly looks like a foreigner, so I thought that a foreign name would help him blend in with whatever backstory we come up with." His eyes closed when a particularly chilly draft passed them by, adding to his aloof appearance.

"That... makes sense. Man, I'll never get used to your level of thinking; always at least five steps ahead." 

"That's fine. Keeps my niche open so I don't have to do any more work than the bare minimum."

Chouji let loose a hearty laugh, then pulled an unopened bag of chips from.... _somewhere._ Ripping it open, he took a handful before offering it to the Nara. 

"Want some?" Despite having asked the question, the mirth in his eyes said that he knew the answer perfectly well.

"Hm. Don't mind if I do." With the previous tension resolved, they laid there, watching the clouds in companionable silence.

 

**\------(TIME SKIP BECAUSE I SHOULDN'T LEAVE IT AS JUST A FILLER AFTER SO LONG)--------**

 

Shikamaru found himself walking through the forest once more. There was never a trail to follow, no familiarity in the trees he walked past. With every venture into the trees, he had to rely on his gradually advancing tracking skills to follow the subtle path given to him.

He found that with each visit, the "trail" grew sparser and sparser, a new challenge each time. It excited him.

Winding through the foliage, he meandered along, new sights and smells bombarding him. He wondered what would come up in their "lessons" today. 

When Shikamaru taught Aoime things about his culture, things like writing and reading, trying to explain the theory of more complicated subjects, he didn't really ever go in with a lesson plan per se. It still fascinated him when he managed to get a new reaction out of the boy.

And in return, Aoime would teach him things of the forest. He had once tried to teach the Nara the language of the deer, but that hadn't ended in anything productive. Most times Shikamaru learned from observation, little things he picked up that the blond knew and didn't consciously think about, much like him in a way.

Shikamaru learned that animals were, in a way, far smarter than humans. They could learn just as humans could, could work around their anatomical shortcomings, and their deep instinct allowed them more strategy than most people could scrounge up in a lifetime. 

Their entire life was a constant duel to the death, each move a dance of shogi pieces. Even the  _plants_ had to fend off others from invading their territory.

He also learned that the entire forest was  _alive._ Not in the sense that every creature lived off a small degree of nature chakra, but in that the forest was a more complicated environment than any human civilization.

The animals all knew where they belonged, kept each other in balance and created a beautiful ecosystem together. That's more than could be said for humans.

Shikamaru knew he was smart. Having been lauded as a genius all his life had kept him assured of his intelligence. But in this new environment, he felt clumsy and stupid for the first time since he could remember.

Aoime was a picture of familiar grace, bounding through the trees, predatory in his demeanor, a host of contradictions.

It was beautiful.

A small shuffle sounded from his right, making him tense. For fight or flight, he didn't know. But he would be ready.

Turns out neither were needed, as it was just the blond resident of the forest greeting his favorite People.

"Shika! Come!" That was the only warning he got before a hard tug pulled him through the forest. His shinobi training failed him, and his feet clumsily tripped over obstacles he didn't have the presence of mind to avoid. 

_Jesus, he's fast._

The blond was going faster than he would ever go without enhancing his muscles with chakra, blurring through the trees so quickly the animals nearby didn't have enough time to react. His balance kept being offset by the dips and twigs in the ground, but thankfully Aoime's tight grip kept him from falling forward at such high speeds.

Various shades of greens melded together, and Shikamaru grew nauseous. Finally, when his arm ached and he was sure he would hurl any moment, the pair came to an abrupt halt. 

The world seemed to tilt around him, swaying from side to side. Or was that just him? His head throbbed; he groaned and fell to a heap on the ground, covering his eyes to regain his equilibrium.

Long, painful moments passed before he was sure that if he stood, his lunch would stay in his stomach where it belonged. When the dizziness passed, his other sensory senses kicked in.

Soft, moist, squishy soil dampened his pants, cooling his legs where he'd fallen into a kneeling position. Soft splashes were almost consumed by the dull roar of larger rapids, water tumbling over itself in its rush downstream. The clean scent of fresh water and mud led him to the obvious conclusion of them being at a river. 

But why and how?! His mind ran through all the maps of Konoha he'd seen, and all told him that the nearest river was at least ten miles from the village! He didn't think it was possible to run that far in the span of maybe three minutes. Well, unless you gave either Lee or Maito Gai a challenge.

But even then, they both had formal training and harsh conditioning. Conclusion: it should be impossible for Aoime to manage such a feat.  _But he did. And he's no mere civilian either. He has access to his chakra and can perform mokuton techniques without a single hand sign._

Shikamaru decided to think some more on that later, because he was sure there was something important he was supposed to be paying attention to, judging by the slightly impatient grunts he heard coming from his companion. Sigh.  _Fine_. . .

Looking up, he was greeted with the sunlight glinting harshly off the spraying water and large green scales the color of the finest jade from the Land of Stone.  _Wait; scales?_  He did a double take and nearly fell to the ground in shock! . . . Again.

There, standing nobly amongst the rainbow spray was a fabled kirin. Being a cross of a deer and a dragon, it was strangely elegant, not at all gangly nor monstrous. Its scales were only slightly lighter than the hair at the base of its hooves, blending seamlessly into the dark blue fur that shone a brilliant sapphire. Ridged horns, light brown in color, rose from its brows to point to the sky.

In a word, magnificent.

Wise and intelligent eyes stared into his own and he felt the sudden urge to show his respect in some way.

"This is Father," the boy he'd nearly forgotten proudly proclaimed. 

". . . What do you mean by  _'father'_?" he asked.

Aoime stilled, features slackening then gained a face of persistence. Tapping his head, he nodded once jerkily. It was then that Shikamaru noticed a feather-light pressure settled upon his mind, one small touch that foretold unimaginable power hidden beyond his senses.  

Cautiously, he allowed the presence to take root in his mind. He was relieved when the presence remained relatively passive and didn't force him to take the backseat in his own mind like the Yamanaka he--  _thankfully_ \-- wasn't overly familiar with.

_'So we meet, young one._  ' Well shit, if that wasn't the most startling thing ever, he didn't know what was.

_'_ _Were you expecting me?_  ' Was he really talking to a mythical deer hybrid right now? This was his life now, Shikamaru realized with more than a little resignation.

_'_ _Oh, for decades now. Our little prince has taken quite the liking towards you,'_  came the amused reply.

_'I guess so. So long as I don't offend him, he's a ball of sunshine.'_ He deliberately ignored the mention of "decades," instead filing that little tidbit away to examine later.

_'Yes, he is quite excitable. He never completely understood the mannerisms common to your people, so I can imagine the misunderstandings.'_

Shikamaru snorted, recalling the introductions incident. That had been a mess he never wanted to repeat.  _'There are many. However, if we can maybe slowly acclimate him to the human society, he would gain more understanding...'_ He trailed off on his thought, unsure of how to continue. 

_'We?'_

_'Ah. I meant to ask if perhaps I could introduce him to my friends one at a time, try to get him used to human contact that isn't limited to just me. Would that be an option?'_ The king looked over to see Aoime animatedly chasing some birds, playing a game of tag farther down up the riverbank. He seemed to be thinking it over, but what would he know about reading the expressions of a deer. After an awkward moment, just when Shikamaru was about to retract his words, the king spoke again. 

_'That would be agreeable. His fate is with you; he cannot stay sheltered in the forest any longer. The seed has been nurtured to a strong sapling, and it is time that he spread his branches and reach for the light.'_

_'Thank you for your approval. I know that he values your opinion very highly."_

_'But of course. My time has nearly run out, and he still has much to learn of the world.'_ Well, that was foreboding. He didn't like the sound of that at all.

_'In that case, I think I should mention that the leader of my village will most likely force his induction into our military forces. He is not ours, but his gift with nature is nearly unprecedented,'_ Shikamaru said a bit sheepishly. He felt like apologizing in advance for the stupidity the council would put in action.

The king just huffed in response before delivering his response. 

_'Though I am hesitant to allow it to happen, it is necessary. The future has always been shrouded in darkness, but your 'Aoime' as you call him has enough love in his heart to light the way.'_

_'That's... cool. Awesome.'_ Why was it that he felt so uncomfortable when elders decided to speak in riddles? He felt the topic had closed and was relieved when the king's presence receded from his mind.

Since he now had nothing to do but perhaps cloud watch, he reclined on a tree and let his eyes droop lazily.

Not even a minute later, playful footsteps sounded before the impish face of Aoime appeared in his line of sight, blocking out the sky.

"The tree does not like you doing that," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "'Ask politely' is what King always says!" Shikamaru gingerly sat up, thinking of how smoother Aoime's speech had gotten since they've started their "lessons."

"I'm sorry, I guess. I don't know what the trees are saying, so I hadn't thought to ask first." His neck was still bent to inspect the fluffy masses floating in the azure expanse. 'Ah, that cloud looks like a mushroom. I wonder if Chouji ever went shiitake farming like he wanted.'

"Hm. I am bored."

Shikamaru snorted. "Then look up. Or look around. Anything can entertain you, even something as simple as bubbles."

"Bubbles?"

"Do you not have a name for them?" He pointed to the shallow part of the river, pockets of air resurfacing from the frothing depths. 

"Oh! They go *pop,* don't they?" he said, pressing his lips together and rolling them out to make the *pop* sound. Shikamaru chuckled, relieved that Aoime's childishness remained intact even after his advancing education. He didn't want to change him, just be able to understand him better and vice versa.

"Yes, those are what I'm talking about. There's a way to make them the motion of the river, and they last a bit longer as well. Would you like to try it?" 

Aoime's eyes practically gleamed in excitement; it was always thrilling for him to try new things that The People had invented. 

I think I brought some for you to try out, give me a second." He rifled around in his kunai pouch first, then moved on to the many pockets of his chuunin vest. On his third pocket, he found the little tube of bubbles, satisfied he's kept it from those damn kids' last prank. He unscrewed the cap, took out the miniature wand and made a show of blowing a few bubbles.

Aoime was mesmerized, and his hand reached out to touch the one nearest to him. When his finger made contact, it dispersed making that same "popping" sound he'd demonstrated earlier.

Aoi's eyes grew round, a little panicked that he's broken the rainbow bubble, but calmed when he saw that Shikamaru was trying not to laugh. At this, he pouted.

"Don't laugh!" he yelled, cheeks red with embarrassment. 

"Yes, yes, your majesty. I live only to tend to your bubbly needs," the Nara said, dragging out his sentences to sound mocking. He blew more bubbles before Aoime could catch on though.

A clawed hand swiped at the delicate spheres, and they promptly met their untimely demise. Expectant eyes fell on him like a weight, and he couldn't help but sigh in fake annoyance before complying with the unspoken demands.

Round after round of bubbles met their ends in ways similar to the first and second batches, and Shikamaru was hard-pressed to keep his supply up for the demand. But he was determined.

Eventually, Shikamaru tried using his Shadow Possession Jutsu to try to control a bubble, and attempt to keep it out of the blond's reach to keep him entertained. And maybe to have some fun himself, but no one else had to know. 

Sadly, his plan didn't work and he had to continue churning out bubbles. But then the inevitable happened.

He ran out of breath.

Falling backward in almost comical slow-motion, he collapsed to the grassy ground, red-faced and puffing for all he was worth. The remainder of the bubbles spilled beside him, and all he could do was feel some sort of vicious satisfaction that the bubbles were no more. All the while, Aoime was positively  _howling_ with laughter at his expense, just short of rolling on the floor with how low he was leaning over and clutching at his stomach.

"It's not funny," the raven grumbled, cheeks still ruddy from a mixture of embarrassment and shortness of breath. When the blond showed no signs in stopping his torment, Shikamaru's eye started twitching and he ground out, "I'll get you back at some point. When you least expect it, I will have my revenge." And that was a promise.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: LONG A/N AHEAD!
> 
> 1\. I am so sorry I left this alone for so long. This was just so long that I kept staring at the page thinking "what now?" I also admit to page-length pressure getting to me. Not from any of you guys, but from myself really. But hey, it's a long update, right?
> 
> 2\. I also got a rough timeline figured out, so by now the Suna/Oto invasion has already taken place, (+Gaara's dead,) Tsunade's Hokage, and Sasuke's defected, (though that's not exactly relevant to the plot anymore...)
> 
> 3\. Unfortunately, this might end up being a pretty long fanfic, and it might also end with an angsty ending. If that does happen, I'm fully prepared to take responsibility for any emotional damage I may have caused and start a sequel.
> 
> That's not set in stone though, so we'll just take this one step at a time and we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
> 
> 4\. I have the events for the story planned out, so more characters will be introduced, I'll have to write shitty action scenes, (well, write in general,) and there's more waiting involved. Sorry about that, and my final note:
> 
> 5\. To clarify, this is a bXb novel. Beyond mild swearing and gore, there will be nothing Rated R or 18+. if I do write anything of that nature, it will be in the sequel or a separate oneshot. Yes, the main pairing is gay, but I don't think I really need to make EVERYBODY gay, so main pairings will be present for the most part with the exception of figuring out what the hell I need to do with Team 7. 
> 
> We all thought the 7 in the first chapter was a typo, (even myself,) but I now realize where the mix up was. Naruto was kicked out of the pack at age 7 and has lived with his tree for 7 years. 7+7=14, which was his age before the story progressed. Now, both Naruto/Aoime and Shikamaru are 15. I don't know if anyone's picked up on it, but it's autumn,  around the beginning of November, I'd say.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kind of filler-ish, but I needed to organize my thoughts and get this out of the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, it didn't take me a year to update this time.

He wasn't ready for this.

He'd gained permission to introduce Aoime to some other people and had briefly brought up the idea to Chouji, but it was still nerve-wracking to know that he was technically harboring a potential threat to Konoha. If he was found out, he could be killed regardless of his position as clan heir.

In fact, it could put his clan under suspicion as he's next to be the leading and representing face.

_Stop thinking._

Sometimes it was better to just stop thinking about overcomplicated things and let it be. He already knew the risks and consequences for this whole situation, and about 12 or more outcomes depending on certain key aspects and who would or wouldn't be involved. Only a few were good, and none involved leaving Aoime to himself.

No, it was better to stop thinking of it since he had absolutely no intention of backing out now. Especially since Ao had basically imprinted on him like a duckling and might just attempt to find him himself should Shikamaru stop showing up for their "playdates."

And that was both incredibly endearing and terrifying at the same time. To think that Aoime depends on him that much and would perhaps fear for his wellbeing at an irregularity in behavior showed a huge amount of trust, and that had never happened before. Most assumed that he'd be a man who used the rules as loopholes to expend as little energy as possible, as per his typical lazy and slightly cold persona. And that hurt, to know that your comrades hold so little faith in you.

God, that's depressing. He couldn't even get his mind to do such a simple task as stop thinking! Was he really the lauded genius of the Naras?

"What's got you thinking so hard? Is it your _girlfriend?”_  Ino's distinctively bossy voice sounded from a little behind his shoulder. Startled, he had to quench the knee-jerk reaction to reach into his kunai pouch at his hip.

"For the last time, she's not my girlfriend." She sidled up next to him and grinned.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say," she said, clearly not believing his word.

"Girls are too troublesome," he muttered, missing the hint of realization in his companion's crystalline blue eyes.

"So, what's on your mind?"

Should he tell her? They used to be on the same genin team, but she was also the gossip queen of the village. But maybe he could release some half-truths to satisfy her curiosity...

"I have this _friend_ who's from out of the village. Not another ninja village, but definitely not Konoha." She rolled her eyes at this, thinking this was one of those cliché routines where the "friend" in question was really nim. His eye almost twitched, but he kept his composure.

"You see, they don't have a traveler's permit, but it's dangerous for them to remain where they are. I can't exactly hide them in one of our vacant clan houses, so I'm wondering if you may have any ideas."

She thought for a moment, serious now that it was a non-romantic situation.  
"... Well, the simplest solution is to register them as a citizen and maybe _speed along_  the process behind the scenes. But you've already thought of this, haven't you." He had, and of course she realized that.

"The only problem with this plan is that the council will likely kick up a fuss because of some certain extra abilities they possess." That brought her up short before she gained a thoughtful expression.

"Hmmm; that _is_ a problem. I would say the best thing you can do is file the paperwork and discreetly introduce them to prominent people to gain a majority vote if the issue ever goes to the council. A majority vote can easily outdo the double votes of the elders. As an heir, I trust you are well versed in politics?"

He snorted. Of course he was trained in weathering the storm of personal interests. It was training all heirs underwent, including Ino. He could play the game just fine when he wanted to, thank you very much.

"Exactly," she continued. "Beat them at the game if you can't hide this friend of yours. Honestly, I don't see any hope of you keeping this something like this secret for long, so I suggest you get to work. In the meantime, my lips are sealed shut. Maybe you could show up on time every once in a while to repay me," she said, only half-joking.

"Maybe," he said. They both knew the chance of that happening would be like Jiraiya saying he has renounced his ways to be a monk and would never peep again. In conclusion: most likely never.

And she knew this too, so she just huffed and pretended to be irritated. "Well alright. I think I'm gonna head off to the hot springs. I'm meeting with the girls, and there's always a pervert or two to entertain us. And Shikamaru?"

"Hm?"

"Watch out for those pesky toads. I hear they're found in the most inconspicuous of places."

His gaze sharpened minutely; it seems Jiraiya was in town.

"Understood. And do try to keep him in one piece." She grinned like a shark who's caught scent of blood.

"He'll be fine in the end."

_In the bushes by the fence of a certain inn, a man with distinctive white hair and a bloody nose shoots up, a chill down his spine and a healthy dose of fear instilled. A cold sweat runs down his neck and he laughs nervously._

“ _Maybe_ _I should come by another day...?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I brought up majority votes in that bit of politics because logically, the elders would count as 2 votes, and Danzo would count as 3 because he's from a clan. There are 17 clans of Konoha, so it would be easy to outvote the 6 votes given to the elders, and that's why the majority is most important. The only problem is when the civilian council comes in, and how easily bought they are...
> 
> And  uh, this is short and filler-ish, but I want to give you guys something more so I can move on and not take forever. Fair enough, yeah?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our dear Aoime decided to go on a little adventure. It gets him in a spot of trouble...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the plot is going somewhere. Oh, and I managed to update before the end of the year! Go me!

For once, Aoime was bored. Oftentimes he had little time to stop and just think, so this was fairly new for him. He was usually on the prowl for the small snacks that made up his meals or washing his scent away if it got too strong, ~~~~or--more recently-- spending time with Shika.

The other boy had come almost every other sun, (or day,) before now, but it had been over five moons by his count since he had last seen the People. So now Aoime was bored.

Maybe he would venture out towards the edge of the woods again...

There's no harm in looking for his People, right? When in doubt, Shika could always entertain him. So the blond jumped up from his pile of furs and set on meandering away from his den to the "village," as Shika calls it. He would never understand how there was no infighting with everyone's dens in such close proximity.

While he walked, he resumed his habitual foraging and switched between walking in-between the plants and atop the thicker branches of the sturdy trees. His feet were light, unhindered by those things the People were so fond of wearing on their feet.

The sounds produced by civilization filtered through the tranquility of leaf-filtered sunlight and slow, rhythmic puffs of exhaled air. He was getting closer.

By the time he came to almost breaking the treeline, he paused. He climbed higher to see above the fence that served as a pitiful first-defense that "protected the village." He'd have to watch out for those guards that patrol.

Aoime assessed the social dynamics in front of him: the common attire, the tones of speech, an individual's posture in a group as they passed on the busy path dug flat in the ground. And then he realized that in his skin wrappings, he would never blend in. He'd be like a squirrel among a troop of monkeys!

Thinking fast, he saw a pile of fabrics peeking out of a large box. Just sitting there, unattended with something he couldn't read scrawled across the side of it. Well, it certainly didn't look like someone cared much for it, and that suited his purposes perfectly.

Hopping to the ground and staying low in a crouch, he crawled near to the line of planks. Though clearly having been dead for some time, this wood was once many thriving trees, and thus easily collected and stored nature chakra.

Using this chakra to ease his way through, Aoime melded into the wood and came out on the other side. Finally, he could see the People up close. But this was no time to observe the strange rituals of the People, he was on a mission!

He headed towards that box he had spotted just moments ago and rifled through what it had to offer. He didn't know much about clothing, but even  _he_  could tell that the items were of a new type of hideous.

Bright green suits of an abnormally stretchy material, red pants with fringes lining the sides as bright as cherries, and an orange suit of a truly shocking shade with numerous pockets and bold blocks of blue and a wide white collar.

Of his limited choices, this had to be the most aesthetically appealing.

So he unclothed himself and carefully pulled the suit up his legs, up his torso, and finally on his arms. It was loose, but it would be fine. Although he was thankful that he oriented the fabric this way instead of how he'd pulled it out. His bits would've been freezing...

He carefully stowed away his furs after dispersing everything from his pouch to a few of the many pockets and dusted himself off. He was still barefoot, but what did it matter?

Aoime watched the flow of foot traffic for a moment before swiftly joining, working to imitate the straight postures and long strides, the somewhat jerky and slow paces of those around him. It took a bit of effort to unfurl from his slightly hunched, predatory walk. He was used to walking smoothly so there was less chance of creating noises that would startle the deer or any quarry.

And he didn't know why, but they were all so  _slow._ He could notice in what little form that was apparent through their thick layers of fabric that the majority had more skin than needed, skin that looked squishy and rippled with every step they took. Was that normal here? Was that appealing to their mates? Honestly, he just  _couldn't understand_  these People. The vast majority of their lifestyle that he had witnessed made no sense to him!

Why have more weight that will slow you down when running or hunting? Did they not notice how easily a wolf or two could pick them off with how slow they were going, with the pungent scents clogging his nose that smelled vaguely of flowers?

He doubted he would ever come to understand them, but he only needed  _his_  People, not all of them. His People at least  _tried_ to understand how wrong they were. And he taught Aoime many things so they could talk and enjoy each other's company. His People had a smaller pool of chakra than himself, (though larger than these People around him), with chakra of a distinctly masculine dark blue.

That's it! He could track him down!

Aoime was feeling a little giddy at the ease of which he could find Shika and decided to make it similar to their previous tracking games. Shika was the prey, Ao the hunter.

He imagined the People as the trees, the perfect places to hide. His azure eyes scanned his surroundings, pinpointing the two shadows that seemed to be lingering suspiciously in an alley and atop a roof. Patrols.

The whiskered boy sweated a bit but was determined to continue on his mission. It wouldn't do to arouse even more suspicion by acting abnormally. Think! What could he do to shake their curiosity...?

A heavenly smell made his stomach rumble, not unlike a growl. Taking a chance, he smiled and followed it to the source.

After a few paces, he came across a small building emitting steam and that delicious aroma, enthusiastic People sitting and eating a soup that he had never seen! He came closer to investigate. An older man was behind a small wooden barrier cooking while a younger girl was talking to the People eating or handing out more food.

"Hello! Would you like to order anything today? Our special of the day is miso ramen, though another popular item on the menu in shoyu ramen." She was enthusiastic and seemed to be giving out...  _ramen?_ Was that the name of this dish?

He would certainly like to try it, but he didn't know the difference between the two!

"Ah... miso?"

"What size?"

"I don't know. What are the differences?"

"We have small, medium, or large. There is 10 ryo difference between the three, but the small is the cheapest."

"That then."

"Alright; and would you like that with chicken, beef, or pork?"

Chicken? Pork? Ryo? This was harder than he'd thought. The People had so many things that the forest did not provide.

"None."

He felt as if everyone's eyes were pinned to him, and he shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like that he didn't know what she was talking about, but she wasn't exactly explaining either.

"Okay, that'll be ready for you in just a moment," she said, unfazed by his somewhat curt answers. She turned to yell at the man in the back of the small place. "A small plain miso, dad!"

"Comin' up!"

A People stood up, having finished eating, and slid some paper on the table.

"Thanks, Ayame! Delicious as always!" he said, walking away to rejoin the flock of People.

"Thank you, come again!" she called after him, taking the notes and stowing them in a pocket at the bottom of her wrap.

What were those that she just took? Was he supposed to give her something in return for the food?! All he had were nuts, berries, and a bunch of mushrooms! Suddenly he didn't feel so good about this...

"Here you are! One small miso ramen just for you," she said, cheerfully setting it at the place the man had just vacated, and he realized the time to back out had come and gone without him realizing. A small sliver of wood was placed in front of him as well when he sat down. But why?

"Thank you..."

"Enjoy your meal."  _Finally_ , she turned away from him, and he stared at the piece of wood as if hoping it would jump up and give detailed instructions on its use like Shika did many times before. It did no such thing.

His eyes shifted to the patrons on the other end of the bar, quietly taking notes on how they held the sticks after he'd noticed they'd split the wood in half.

 _One on the third finger, and one on the second... Under thumb... You can open and close like that? So strange..._ While he definitely didn't get it the first try, he was still fairly successful with the sticks. Still, he struggled to grasp a noodle and make sure it wouldn't fall back into the bowl.

Up, up it went, and he thought he  _may_  have gotten the hang of it. The noodles showed no sign of slipping, and he finally took it to his mouth. He was completely unprepared for the explosive flavor that greeted his taste buds, and the resulting  _moan_ of bliss. All frustrations blown away, he was much more motivated to finish the dish before him. This  _"ramen."_ He was sure The People were staring now, but he couldn't stop himself from shoveling as much of the noodles in his mouth as he could, as fast as he could.

When there was nothing but broth left, he hurriedly picked up the bowl and slurped it down. He wouldn't mind trading water for the ambrosia that was ramen! In the inevitable, the bowl ran empty.

He knew the time would come, but he didn't have the sense of mind to brace himself for the imminent tragedy. And a tragedy it was.

Tears nearly pricked at the corners of his eyes, and he swore that a time of mourning was needed. How could any such respect be denied for the "death" of the holy ramen? Such an error had to be quickly reconciled.

Clapping his hands and bowing his head, Aoime couldn't help the mumbled streams of prayer that spewed from his mouth, frantic to prove his dedication and conviction in the ramen. Of course, this garnered quite a few stares, and a slight hush fell over the small diner, but that was no cause for stopping. There are certain things that absolutely  _must_ be done, no matter the consequences.  _This_  was one of those things.

As he was praying, the girl stopped midway through taking an order to stare. Confusion, incredulity, then amusement shone through her brown eyes.

It was flattering to know that her family recipe, the thing she was set to inherit and make her own could bring forth such a fanatic reaction. And though she didn't exactly want to disturb this stranger, unfortunately, she had a job to do.

"Um, excuse me... Could I take that bowl from you? Or you can get a refill." The boy stopped his muttering to stare at her, as if not quite comprehending what she was asking.

"I have no...  _ryo_  for this ramen. Can you take something other?" He seemed kind of embarrassed and guilty that he had no money. He also talked kind of strangely. Maybe he was a rogue orphan? Ayame didn't really know how to address the situation. Ryo had been the standard currency for all her life, so she couldn't just give out free bowls of ramen; that would be catastrophic to the business if word got around the village! But he  _did_ mention he had something else to trade for it... Well, bargaining used to be well practiced, so why not see what he's got?

"What do you have to trade for the ramen? We can see if we can come to an agreement." Hesitantly, the boy reached down into one of his many pockets and pulled out a handful of something.

Putting them on the table, she could see that they were mushrooms.

And then she looked closer and realized that these mushrooms were fresh and not dried, and though known to her, were incredibly rare due to their growing habits and seasons, making it more effort than it's worth for most mycologists and other groups who gather wild native ingredients. 

In short, they were very valuable ingredients. 

"Would you happen to have any more of these mushrooms?" He shook his head 'no.' "Then these will do," she said, sweeping all the mushrooms into her another of her apron pockets. "Tell me, would you be willing to continue trading mushrooms for ramen? It looked like you really liked it, and we can always use quality ingredients like these."

He nodded in response, a shy grin slowly growing. To have more of this ramen, and only for some gatherings of mushrooms? That was an investment if he'd ever seen one. 

"Alright then. Whenever you fancy a bowl, come to Ichiraku Ramen with your pockets loaded. You're always welcome here," she said, taking the bowl and turning away. 

 

* * *

 

Honestly, after that huge ramen and ryo debacle, Aoime wasn't completely sure he should continue on his self-appointed 'mission.' Yes, he discovered the single holiest thing to all mankind, and yes, he managed to escape the notice of the village's patrols, but was this really worth it?

The answer was yes; his People was  _always_ worth it. 

So he continued slowly weaving in between People in the crowded paths, subtly keeping his senses alert for Shika's chakra signature. With so many People surrounding him, the only way for him to locate his People was to ignore the dim signatures around him,  _(they were like bugs with how much they possessed, even less than a plant,)_ and simply walk until he could sense Shika.

There were a few false alarms when he grew lax and started looking only for larger reserves; that led to him following a few People he assumed Shika called 'ninja.' 

So here he was, nose stinging from the repugnant mix of smells and boredom creeping in once more. The clothes he wore were starting to chafe his skin, unused to so much coverage as it was, and his feet ached from walking upon the hard ground for so long. How he wished there were trees to jump to; the tallest things around him were inanimate, unfeeling buildings. 

He supposed those would have to do. 

Taking off at a slight run towards one of the side alleys, he ran to a wall and used his momentum to jump off the side. Using the wall as a springboard, he ricocheted off the walls, repeatedly jumping from wall to wall until he reached the roof. 

Crouching low as was familiar to him, he sprinted towards the nearest building. He leaped off the edge, absolutely sure in his body's capabilities, and soared over the space in between. Looking over, he saw another doing something similar. He almost tensed, but soon realized with the addition of others that this type of transportation was common as well.

Then he realized that these people were doing it a bit differently. They leaned forward a bit more and seemed to exert less effort. But how?

His check for Shikamaru revealed the secret to him. Little blips of chakra would spike then disappear in short bursts, most likely being used with every step to propel them forward more strongly and effortlessly than they would if they simply ran the old-fashioned way. Aoime knew this was probably similar to walking on water like he did to visit Father, and wanted to give it a try.

Keeping his senses attuned to the chakra spikes associated with the technique, he observed the timing that went into charging the feet, then releasing the pent-up energy almost  _before_ the foot touched the ground.

Bringing up just about as much chakra as he would use to walk on the river, he cautiously primed it, then imitated the way they ran, hoping he didn't blow himself up by using too much. Thankfully, that wasn't a problem. The way he almost fell on his face when the chakra stuck slightly, was.

It was hard releasing the chakra so abruptly, making sure it didn't try to apply as an adhesive or blow a hole through the roof he was running upon  _while_ also trying to synchronize the process to his running steps  _and_ jump from roof to roof. Against all odds, he actually managed to get the hang of the technique, but certainly not on his first try. But each step got easier, and soon he was bounding with the rest of them, easily keeping and even going ahead in some cases thanks to his trained and sturdy muscles.

And being above the crowd made his search much easier. He didn't have to walk at such a slow pace, there were fewer People to ignore in favor of carefully sifting through the signatures he could make out.

Brown, red, violet, green, pink, blue,  _(not his blue,)_ grey; there were so many with sizable pools of chakra. It was strange though how some large sections of the village were brimming with a mostly exclusive color, skimming on the edges of his senses. And seeing such vibrant shades was amazing to him! Animals had less personality than People, so naturally there was less color to their chakra,  _(and less in general.)_ It was like the colors were watered-down versions of what he was seeing now, the colors desaturated compared the Peoples'.

And just when he was about to give up on his search and head back towards the forest and his clothes, a blue similar to Shikamaru's caught his attention. Upon closer inspection, he saw that not far off from that, there was a whole  _multitude_ of blue chakra signatures; some close in hue to the sky on a sunny day, others as dark as the river waters when the moon came out to play.

So he adjusted his course towards the veritable  _sea_ of chakra and continued on with his newly developed roof-hopping method, not tiring in the slightest. 

The village wasn't as big as he had thought, compared to the number of People that inhabited it. (Of course, he had yet to see the apartment buildings that allowed for more People in less space, but he likely would have compared them to the trees he loved so much and their many levels of branches,)

Soon enough, Aoime arrived to a slightly more secluded area, one that was quite calm and peaceful. There was no one haggling for wares or aromatic stalls beckoning to hungry patrons, but only rows of houses that were more wood than rock. 

The occasional People passed him by, but none of them seemed to really give him more than a cursory glance. Unlike the People of the bustling path, they all shared similar physical traits, so maybe they were a pack? Aoime still failed to understand how they could possibly cohabitate in such close quarters, but he could respect and even admire such a tightly knit pack. Though between the blue chakras and gleaming black ponytails, there was no sign of Shikamaru. So the search went on.

At this point, the blond was getting frustrated, homesick, and kind of lonely. This game wasn't fun anymore and he just wanted to see Shikamaru.

He slowly trudged on, paying less attention to his surroundings than he had the whole afternoon. He knew that no one was looking, but he could feel their eyes seem to follow him, and he burned with a feeling of unbelonging. He could finally see trees at a small distance, but  _nothing was familiar to him._ Not the wooden dwellings, not the smooth dyed cloths, and certainly not the  _number_ of  _People._  There were so much that he felt he was drowning.

He was hyperventilating now, unknowingly gasping for breath while desperately clutching at his throat like that would ease the airway. Things were blurring; there were hands touching him now, scorching his skin, and  _he couldn't breathe._

His vision went black and a presence could be felt by the heat burning his back and they leaned close to his ear, using the hand he realized was covering his eyes to gently pull his head back.

"Breathe."

He didn't know this voice. He didn't know what was happening. He just wanted this People to be Shikamaru.

"You need to  _breathe._ Calm down; think about taking a deep breath in, keep it in for as long as you can, then exhale. This will only stop if you calm down enough to think rationally."

His breath stuttered and he struggled to meet this People's demands. He focused on taking a deep lungful of air, as much as he could possibly take in, then explosively let it out again after holding it for a few excruciating seconds. 

His heart thudded painfully in his chest, almost drowning out anything else the People might have said, but he still tried to calm himself. Slowly, he realized he was starting to breathe a bit easier with each new breath, and his panic gave way to embarrassment. His body felt warm, and he was sure he was flushing terribly.

The grip around his eyes loosened and the People retreated from his personal space once it was clear Aoime had a handle on his breathing patterns. Aoime had to squint against the newfound brightness as the sun's rays figuratively stabbed his eyes repeatedly. 

A hand made itself known, offered palm-up to perhaps assist him. As if this People hadn't done enough. 

He sniffed at the palm before putting his hand in theirs and was promptly pulled up from his position on the hard ground. A brief sense of vertigo made itself known when he stumbled a bit, but quickly regained his center of gravity. The air between them was distinctly awkward and he was painfully aware of the group of curious People that'd formed during his episode dissipating.

Cracking under pressure, he cleared his throat.

"Thank you. That has never happened before..."

"Ah," the stranger said lamely, his posture slouched and deceptively lazy. "I take it you are one of the many who have social anxiety. Are you sure that's never happened before? It's a large village, and there're too many situations where an episode like that's likely." 

"I'm not... from around here. I am not usually in the village." 'Never' was the truth, but that would be suspicious, would it not?

"That explains why I haven't seen you around. Though had I not known  _each_ and  _every_ shinobi in service to Konoha, I would've mistaken you for a ninja from your roof-hopping." Aoime felt like there was an unspoken question somewhere in there, but he was too untrained in social etiquette to decipher what this man was asking.

"I uh, I just learned? I am not a shinobi. My... friend is though. But not me." The other's gaze sharpened unnoticeably at this, his frame slightly tenser at this admission.

"You lookin' for them? That's really the only reason why an outsider comes to the clan grounds."

"I am, but I don't know if I can find him here. I only came because everyone's chakra was kind of similar to his..." The man in front of him choked at this. Only highly skilled ninja developed a skill for sensing chakra, and naturally, only a small few actually did due to the work that goes into its training. There was  _no way_ this kid could be anything less than a highly skilled professional. But he didn't strike him as an assassin if he'd freely give away such vital information...

"If he's a shinobi, I probably know him. What's his name, squirt?" A test to look for any giving reactions. If this kid  _was_ a mole, he was a damn stupid one. Might as well try to root them all out.

"Shikamaru!"

Time stopped. The clouds stopped drifting, his clansmen stopped all movement and his brain stopped functioning.

Oh god, please tell him that his own  _son_  hadn't given up his village. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, I left that at a cliffhanger. 😈😇
> 
> I don't really know what happened here. Seriously; this whole chapter threw me for the loop and I had to scrap a bit of my outline to accommodate... And that bit about social anxiety? Yeah, I have similar breakdowns like this every so often, so this isn't an imagined account. And I thought that the stress of an entirely new environment would eventually negatively affect him, no matter how extroverted he is. His only human interaction has been with Shikamaru, a lazy and generally quiet Nara that's completely practical in his wardrobe and actions.
> 
> But it makes me so incredibly happy to see that this story is gaining popularity and more spotlight, that so many people are taking the chance to read this tiny story based off of an admittedly vague synopsis. Really, I can't thank you guys enough for sticking with me.
> 
> But enough of that. Here's a fun fact: according to the manga illustrations, Naruto's chakra is actually yellow. So the trademark blue rasengan was actually just a mistake in the coloring process of the anime. Also found out the official conversion rate for ryo is 10 yen=1 ryo, and 10 ryo=1 US dollar.
> 
> P.S. Do my notes bother you? I notice on Wattpad the majority of you skip it...
> 
> Please leave a comment; they make me happy and motivated!


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